


Destiny Awakes

by silveryink



Series: Start Over [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Conversations, Gen, Geniuses, Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 18:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15913473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveryink/pseuds/silveryink
Summary: Of all the things Tony assumed would be a result of having not one, but two super-powerful aliens likened to gods in the Avengers Compound, bonding over science and all things scholarly was not one of them.aka two incredibly smart beings who don't know how to emotion have a conversation





	Destiny Awakes

Of all the things Tony assumed would be a result of having not one, but _two_ super-powerful aliens likened to gods in the Avengers Compound – this while ignoring the fact that one of them had tried to take over the planet before somehow redeeming himself and saving the universe – bonding over science (of all things) was not one of them.

He’d stayed cooped up in his lab for five days straight, and would have ignored his hunger were it not for the fact that Peter had badgered him repeatedly to eat. Even so, he didn’t always remember that he had to consume some sort of food.

He supposed that that was when Loki had started to bring him food and company. After the first few times, they had grown steadily less awkward to the point where they could converse like normal people. It wasn’t all that unpleasant, actually. Loki usually brought a book with him, said that the others were annoying him with their constant need for company and could he please sit in the corner without being disturbed?

Tony had shrugged and agreed. The trickster was on their side, after all. He’d seen him during the battle and instinctively realised that he was trustworthy, even if he hadn’t wanted to believe it at the time. The others were coming around slowly, but Loki seemed to be most comfortable when he was with Thor, or Peter – though Tony hadn’t seen where that friendship had come from – and, surprisingly, Tony himself.

Perhaps it was the fact that neither of them actually minded not speaking to each other, but Loki had come to the lab pretty often since the first time he’d asked, nearly always with food. The trickster himself didn’t seem to eat much, at least compared to Thor, but saw no reason for the inventor to starve himself because he was too forgetful to eat. Both of them were surprised that Tony had let him into his private lab – that was a privilege enjoyed only by Peter, Pepper and Rhodey.

Loki knew that Thor felt that there was too much of a resemblance between them. He would never admit it, but he agreed with his brother. Tony Stark reminded him too much of himself. If it wasn’t the sarcasm as a first line of defence, it was the inventor’s enthusiasm with which he threw himself into his work. And the way he got too caught up working to remember basic needs, like rest or sustenance. Loki had found him passed out on the floor on the fifth day with his arm wrapped around a screwdriver and had hauled him all the way to his bedroom.

The inventor had woken up, a few hours later, confused to find himself tucked into the bed. He had a feeling he knew who had brought him there. The thought filled him with warmth, and he was glad to have befriended the prince. Never would he have imagined that said prince was reminiscing the number of times he’d done more of less the same thing and either Thor and Frigga had had to drag him back so that he would get some rest.

Now, Tony was examining the hologram before him and trying to figure out the problem he faced with the programming. Holograms, he had found, provided him with a more detailed view for examination. It was easier for him to find and rectify any errors, or make changes to the interface.

A slender hand reached out from behind him, stopping before the hologram. Tony didn’t start, but glanced back to find Loki observing the hologram with a thoughtful expression. He stepped out of the way, letting the trickster access the hologram freely. “Uh, what are you doing?” he asked.

“You’ve been trying to reprogram Destiny,” Loki said, raising his other hand as well. “It’s rather painful to watch you struggle. I have had some experience in the field, so I think I may be of some form of assistance.”

Destiny had been a new project of his, one that only Loki had known about. At this point, the two of them had been discussing combining his magic (his _seidr,_ he called it) and Tony’s technology to create something. Tony had realised, after only two conversations with the trickster that he was crazy smart, even by Asgardian standards (this had been verified by a proud Thor).

When Tony found out that Loki was a scholar, always finding a way to expand his knowledge, he leaped at the opportunity it presented. Destiny had been the result – an AI like FRIDAY or Karen, but with more… magic. More sentience. Tony had decided that Destiny would be Loki’s own AI. The prince had refused at first, but Tony had been adamant. Once the interface was complete, Loki had given in, marveling at the sight.

Loki expertly moved his hands around, shifting the parts of the hologram and enlarging the view.

Tony frowned. “You can operate holograms?”

“It was a standard was of retrieving information in Asgard’s archives.”

“Your files were digitalized?”

“Some of them were. Others were manuscripts. I had a large collection of them before Asgard burned down.” Loki seemed to be more upset about the loss of the records than of the planet. Tony supposed that he shouldn’t judge. “Of course, I had memorized them all already, so the knowledge isn’t exactly lost. Oh, and there’s a copy of the records on Vanaheim.”

“You memorized-” Tony shook his head. “What else can you do?”

“Turn blue,” Loki replied absently as he moved on to another section of the holographic interface. Tony almost didn’t catch the reply, he was too fascinated by how Loki manipulated the hologram. It looked a lot like he was weaving a tapestry.

“You what now?”

“This is a roundabout way of doing things,” Loki told Tony, ignoring his question, “but it should get the job done.”

“Hello, Tony,” Destiny said warmly. “Hello, Loki.”

“Hello, Destiny,” Loki greeted. The hologram flickered briefly. Loki smiled with some level of affection that seemed almost parent-like. Tony knew that expression – he’d seen it in the mirror many times.

Tony looked at the greenish-gold hologram in awe. “Man, that’s not roundabout. You got it to do exactly what I was trying to do! Also, what do you mean, you can turn blue?”

Loki looked suddenly nervous. “I… I’m not actually Thor’s brother. Not biologically, though he is absolutely my brother. More than-”

“It’s adorable to watch you get worked up over this, but we already know that you were adopted,” Tony said with a playful smirk.

“Well, yes, but… I’m not Asgardian. It’s hard for me to talk about; I’m not ‘worked up’ over it.”

“I thought the term was Aesir?”

“When you’re referring to the people as a community, you’d say Aesir. ‘Asgardian’ is more like a species designation than anything else.”

“Cool. If you’re not Asgardian, what species – race – whatever you guys call it – are you?”

Loki hesitated, but only for a moment. He’d have to tell him eventually, and now was as good a time as any. “I’m a Frost Giant,” he said, and let his glamour wash away. His pale skin rippled and gave way to a ridged, marked blue. Other than the odd markings, Loki looked more or less the same. Well, apart from the fact that he was blue and he now had red eyes.

“That is so cool,” Tony breathed.

“I believe that is why we’re called _Frost_ Giants,” Loki remarked. Tony snorted, and a smirk tugged at the ends of Loki’s lips. A few seconds later, he changed back into his preferred form. Something in his expression nagged at the corner of Tony’s mind before he remembered something Thor had told him a few years back.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Frost Giants the ones that Asgard really hated?”

“Yup,” Loki said, and Tony was thrown off by the casual way he said it. Tony hadn’t been aware that Loki even used Earth slang, so that was also a surprise. Then again, Peter had told him the other day that Loki liked Harry Potter, so…

“Did you always know?”

“Nope,” Loki said. “I found out in the middle of a dire situation while having a sort of identity crisis and reacted pretty badly to it.”

Tony whistled. Yup, he knew what it was now. Loki felt _validated_. “I dunno, man, you were raised believing them to be one thing, to channel negative emotions when you thought of them, and you suddenly found out you were one of them. I’d be surprised if you _hadn’t_ reacted badly.”

Loki was looking oddly at him. “That’s… that was the conclusion I came to,” Loki said, “But no one else noticed. Except you. I’m just… surprised.”

_Yeah, well, that makes two of us._ “I’m kind of a genius, so.”

Loki snorted and picked up his book as he settled down on the stool opposite him to read. “Tell me if you need any help, or suggestions. I need to catch up on my reading.”

“Dude, that’s what you’re always doing these days. You _never_ talk.”

“I had a larger list, but Asgard’s library burned down. And I thought my silence didn’t bother you?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, well, it doesn’t, and can I ask you something?”

“Clearly I’m not getting any reading done today,” Loki said. He set the book down – Tony noticed that it was _Little Women_ – and leaned forward. He didn’t sound annoyed, however. “Ask away.”

“What powers do Frost Giants have that Asgardians don’t?”

Loki’s expression changed, becoming almost eager and excited. Tony was struck by how open the god’s expression was. Barely a moment ago, it had been shuttered behind a careful blank mask which seemed to be his standard expression. Except when he was reading, of course. Then he looked almost relaxed.

“For starters, I have to tell you that most Aesir do not practice magic. Many of them do not have a capacity for _seidr_ , and the few who do – it’s mostly women who do learn. Vanir-folk are more likely to be mages than Aesir.”

“Right. Vanir-folk?”

“People from Vanaheim. Think of Asgard and Vanaheim as two of your states or provinces, but with as much distance between them as two planets.”

“That makes no sense, but I’ll take it.”

“I am one of the few male royals who learned how to use my _seidr_ in a long time. It’s all thanks to my mother, who taught me most of what I know. Anyway… my talents lie with illusion magic. It’s not just creating illusions of myself or someone else, or being invisible. It’s a lot subtler than that. But that is a result of my _seidr_.

“As a Frost Giant, or _jotun_ , I can shape-shift and create ice, though the latter isn’t something I’m good at.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Tony grinned. “You’re telling me that you can make ice, like, out of nowhere?”

“In small amounts, yes.” Loki rested his hand on the table, palm down, and closed his eyes. The skin turned blue, this time not fully changing, but a thin layer of frost coated a section of the worktable. Tony whistled. “Does this mean I can call you Frosty? You know, like the snowman?”

“Absolutely not,” Loki said flatly.

“Too late!”

“You’re forgetting that I have an entire arsenal of weapons at my disposal.”

“Come on, live a little. Your brother has accepted his own nickname at this point.”

“He’s quite used to it, actually, after putting up with me for a thousand years.”

Tony stared. “You… You’ve been so serious since we came here, I kind of forgot that you’re literally called the god of mischief.”

“ _I’ve_ been serious?” Loki sounded surprised, before he stopped and thought about it. “Actually, I can’t argue with that. I _have_ been serious for a while. Norns, that’s embarrassing.”

“So you gotta spill. Can’t waste an opportunity to embarrass Big Brother.”

The two of them chatted for the rest of the night, before Destiny woke and warned them to get back to their rooms and get some rest before she told Thor and Peter. Tony and Loki exchanged a look that could only be translated as ‘what have we done?’

One thing was clear: this had become the start of a strange friendship.


End file.
